Born in Rotterdam, 18-year old Justin Bijlow has been with Feyenoord since joining the club in 2006 from S.B.V. Excelsior, aged eight. The young shot stopper models his game on keepers such as Dutch international and Ajax keeper Jasper Cillessen as well as Feyenoord’s experienced goalkeeper, Kenneth Vermeer. He made eight appearances in 2015 for the Netherlands U17s in the European Championships, before being drafted into Aron Winter’s U19s.

Who is this Cillessen resembler? Like the Ajax keeper, he is confident, good with the ball at his feet, likes to command his area and is calm under pressure. The starlet also likes to organise his defence. Feyenoord coaches have praised his “good attitude”. If he continues to improve he is more than likely to replace his idol, Kenneth Vermeer, as Feyenoord’s No1 goalkeeper.

In an interview with Feyenoord TV, the youngster was asked to choose between a girlfriend and football, he said: “Football of course. A relationship with a girl can end and with football you can earn some money. It’s more valuable for me to invest in that now than in a girl.” His aim is to play amongst the elite and move to the Premier League in the future. If he continues to impress, it wont be long before he is linked with some of the biggest teams in Europe.

His manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst, may look to fast track the youngster into their first team in an attempt to keep Bijlow away from other teams, should they come circling for his signature in the summer.

Technical director Martin van Geel, has previously been quoted saying: “Justin is a very talented goalkeeper, who has many qualities and has a good mentality. The decision to lay him down, is widely accepted within the club and the coaches within Feyenoord Academy. We are convinced that Justin can still grow much further at Feyenoord, with us he gets the chance to take new steps in its development.”